1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to laminating device for adhering a synthetic resin web to both upper and lower surfaces of a sheet-shaped object.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a laminating device for laminating a synthetic resin web, for example, onto a card or other sheet-shaped object.
Japanese Patent-Application Publication No. HEI-10-507005 discloses a laminating apparatus with a transfer apparatus, a web cartridge detachably fitted in the transfer apparatus, and a feed tray detachably mounted in the web cartridge.
The web cartridge includes upper and lower feed rolls. Each feed roll contains a wound up web of web, such as pet web. One feed tool is disposed above the feed tray and the other fed tool is disposed below the feed tray.
The transfer apparatus includes upper and lower nip rollers disposed at the sheet-discharge side of the web cartridge, and an external crank handle for rotating the nip rollers in synchronization when turned. The transfer apparatus also includes a cutting blade that extends transversely adjacent a discharge opening of the transfer apparatus.
A sheet on the feed tray is transported in a sheet feed direction, between the feed rolls, to the upper and lower nip rollers. The nip rollers further transport the sheet therebetween, while drawing the web from the upper and lower feed rolls to laminate the sheet with the webs. The cutting blade is then operated by the user pressing a handle, to cut the webs in an X direction, which is perpendicular to the sheet feed direction, thus producing a laminate.
Sometimes the laminating webs can be excessively wide with respect to the sheet to be laminated, that is, their length is excessive in the X direction. Also, the sheet can be too wide compared to the webs, so that the sheet sticks out from between the webs after lamination is complete. In such cases, it would be desirable to cut off these unneeded edge portions off from the laminate. However, conventional devices are not provided with configuration for cutting left, right, or both edges of the laminate, that extend parallel with the transport direction, that is, with the Y directions. These edges will be referred to alternately as margins hereinafter.
An application for U.S. patent was filed in co-assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 09,354,086 for a laminating apparatus with a longitudinal cutting mechanism that can cut the produced laminate to a large or small width. The longitudinal cutting mechanism includes two blades and a penetration estrangement mechanism disposed near the port from which the laminate is discharged. The penetration estrangement mechanism pivots the two blades vertically between a position separated from the laminate and a position in contact with the laminate. When a sensor detects that the size of the laminating web is excessively larger than the sheet to be laminated, then the penetration estrangement mechanism pivots the two blades vertically downward into the position where they will cut into the laminate from above. The blades slice off side edges of the excessively large web from the longitudinal sides of the laminate as the laminate is transported.
However, because the blades are disposed directly above the transport pathway of the laminate, when the laminate webs are first transported after replacement or exchange of the web cassette, the blades can contact one or both of the laminate webs even when the blades are pivoted into the position separated from the transport pathway. When the blades contact a laminate web, they can interfere with its transport or even damage the laminate web. The laminate webs need not be installed using a cassette for this potential problem to occur, but could be in an uncovered condition when replenished or exchanged.
It is an objective of the present invention to overcome the above-described problem and provide a laminating apparatus that moves at least a reference edge cutter to a position to the widthwise outside of the transport path of the laminate when a power source is turned off, so that the webs can be easily replaced without being damaged.
In order to achieve the above-described objectives, a laminating apparatus according to the present invention includes a power switch, a sheet transport unit, a laminating unit, a cutter unit, and a cutter transport unit.
The power switch turns on and off a power source that supplies power. The sheet transport unit transports, in a transport direction, a sheet to be laminated. The laminating unit feeds out laminating webs having a predetermined width in a widthwise direction, which is perpendicular to the transport direction. The laminating unit adheringly laminates the laminating webs onto upper and lower surfaces of the sheet transported by the sheet transport unit, thereby producing a laminate having the predetermined width;
The cutter unit cuts a widthwise edge from the laminate following the transport direction. The cutter unit is disposed downstream from the laminating unit in the transport direction. The cutter transport unit selectively positions the cutter unit at a cut position for cutting the laminate, and, when the power switch turns off the power source, moves the cutter unit in the widthwise direction to a retracted position outside the predetermined width of the laminate.
With this configuration, when the power switch of the laminate device is turned OFF, then the cutter unit is automatically moved to a position to the outside of the width of the laminate. While the cutter unit is in this position, the cutter unit is not positioned in the pathway that the webs are transported through. Therefore, when the webs are exchanged while the cutter unit is in this position, the webs can be set in the laminating apparatus safely and reliably.
It is desirable that the cutter unit include a reference side cutter and an other side cutter disposed at a reference side and an other side, respectively, in the widthwise direction for cutting away widthwise opposite edges of the laminate, that the power switch include a rotary knob rotatable between different mode positions for selecting different modes including a power off mode to turn off the power source, and that the cutter transport unit include a linking mechanism for linkingly transmitting rotation movement of the rotary knob to the reference side cutter to move the reference side cutter between the cut position and the retracted position in accordance with the mode position of the rotary knob.
With this configuration, when the user rotates the rotary knob to turn the power switch ON and OFF, the reference side cutter is automatically moved via the linking mechanism to the cut position or the retracted position and maintained in that position. As a result, the webs will only be changed while the reference side cutter is in the retracted position, so that web exchange can be safely and reliably performed.
It is desirable that the cutter transport unit further include a drive motor that selectively moves the other side cutter between the retracted position and the cut position in accordance with the mode position of the rotary knob.
With this configuration, the other side cutter is controlled to move and position in conjunction with the movement and positioning of the reference side cutter. Therefore, operations for setting the webs and for cutting the laminate can be easily achieved.
It is desirable that when the rotary knob is in a power off position for selecting the power off mode, the cutter transport unit moves the reference side cutter and the other side cutter into the retracted position.
With this configuration, when the rotary knob is in a power off position, the cutter transport unit moves the reference side cutter and the other side cutter into the retracted position. Therefore, the webs can be set safely and reliably.